Through my adventure abroad, I realized that time in nature is equally important to exploring the hustle-bustle of cities. Getting lost in flower gardens in London, a hedge maze in Copenhagen or hiking in Snowdonia, going off trail to explore a patch of exceptionally mossy trees with a babbling creek by foot is what truly made this experience memorable.

Nature alone is fantastic. I’ve been “forest bathing” since I was a kid, (before it was seen as necessary from a New Yorker Magazine perspective.) Truthfully, I felt most in touch with myself and formed the best memories when I was teaching my best friend how to use my camera in this stunning glade. We photographed each other and bonded in ways that I don’t think we’d ever touched on before. There’s an intimacy to sharing a passion like photography, but also in being vulnerable to someone else capturing your angles, suggesting how to hold your hair, which way you look best in specific lighting, even how to hold yourself so you look confident and not timid.

Finding this unexpected moment in the woods, surrounded by chartreuse (my favorite color) with one of my best friends in the world was absolutely breathtaking, and I left that space with memories I’ll have for a lifetime.